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The Lost World Of Friese-Greene Details

2006 Certificate Ex
  • Rated:
  • 70
  • from 235 members

In 1924 pioneering filmmaker Claude Friese-Greene embarked on an intrepid road trip from Land's End to John O'Groats. He recorded his journey on film, using an experimental colour process; the result was remarkable travelogue called The Open Road. Reviewers hailed the film as an amazing success at which audiences would 'gasp .. Read more

Starring Dan Cruickshank
Director Annabel Hobley
Genres Special Interest, Television

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The Lost World Of Friese-Greene

In 1924 pioneering filmmaker Claude Friese-Greene embarked on an intrepid road trip from Land's End to John O'Groats. He recorded his journey on film, using an experimental colour process; the result was remarkable travelogue called The Open Road. Reviewers hailed the film as an amazing success at which audiences would 'gasp with wonder', for, at a time when cinemagoers saw their world only in black and white, Claude's remarkable films were shot in colour. Eighty years after Claude's original trip, the BBC and the British Film Institute have recreated the journey, and in this three-part series Dan Cruickshank boards a vintage car and retraces Claude's route through the heart of Britain. Drawing fully on Claude's original footage, which has been meticulously restored by the bfi, this wonderful series affords contemporary audiences a vibrant glimpse at life in the 1920s, and a chance to examine not only how much has changed, but also all that has remained the same since that time. On the route through scenic West Country, into Wales, up the west coast to Scotland, and on to John O'Groats, we hear from a cast of characters - not only relatives and friends of those who appear in Claude's footage, but those who featured in the films as children, and who describe the moving experience of encountering themselves within this beautiful footage.

Starring Dan Cruickshank
Director Annabel Hobley
Studio BFI VIDEO
Run time DVD: 2 hrs 57 mins
Certificate Certificate Ex
Genres Special Interest, Television
Language DVD: English
Released DVD: 02 May 2006
Production year: 2006
Format DVD

The Lost World Of Friese-Greene (2 discs) (2006)

Or you can rent each disc individually:

  • Sign up Lost World Of Friese-Greene, The - Disc 1

    Contains Episodes: 1. Land's End to Weston-super-Mare, 2. Cirencester to Carlisle. ...

  • Sign up Lost World Of Friese-Greene, The - Disc 2

    Contains Episode 3. Gretna Green to John O'Groats and Special Features....

  • Most helpful member's review of The Lost World Of Friese-Greene

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  • 2 out of 2 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 5 stars [Highly rated reviewer]

    More entertaining that the Lost World of Mitchell and Kenyon

    This is a very entertaining 3 episode series about narrator Dan Cruickshank following Claude Friese-Greene's journey in the early 20s from Lands End to John O'Groats, in an attempt to see how the world Friese-Greene filmed has changed - and in some cases, has not changed. Friese-Greene's films are in themselves fascinating, since they were using a very innovative colour process. This is all explained in the series (three times, in fact, in case viewers of the original TV series had missed an earlier episode). It's a very interesting film, and Dan Cruickshank appears to be a really lovely person. The only let-down is the reactions of some of the people he is showing his portable DVD player to... one would have thought that, when shown images of their grandfather, in colour, for the first time, they would have been a little more ecstatic; evidently, so does Cruickshank, who always asks 'So how does it feel seeing your grandfather in colour after all these years?'. The reaction seems rather deadpan at times, which makes me think that some of the people he is showing the footage too have already had a sneak preview before Cruickshank's own cameras capture their reaction. Shame there's not more of London, but you can find more footage on the History part of the Beeb's website.

  • Most recent members' review of The Lost World Of Friese-Greene

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  • Rated - 3 stars

    No.3 was even more fascinating.

    As for Nos. 1 & 2 but, Scotland was even more fascinating for us because we saw Dumfries and our original 'Home Town' as they were in 1924

      • Ellen Stevenson from Dumfries.
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Rating breakdown

235 Member ratings
  • 100
46
  • 90
29
  • 80
50
  • 70
47
  • 60
24
  • 50
14
  • 40
8
  • 30
6
  • 20
7
  • 10
4

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    • In 1924 pioneering filmmaker Claude Friese-Greene embarked on an intrepid road trip from Land's End to John O'Groats. He recorded his journey on film, using an experimental colour process; the result ...